how does picking Rudolph help us win now?
Rudolph was Arians' favorite college QB of 2017
Rudolph wanted to go to Cleveland to play for Todd Haley
Rudolph said Whis contacted him and told him he could beat out Ben.
I hope Rudolph takes over the starting job this year and leads us to a Super Bowl win!
I hope so too, but IMO he will need to clean up some mechanics first. Steve Smith said on draft day that "Rudolph sails too many passes". That inconsistency is in his scouting reports. I didn't like something about his mechanics when I watched him and I think after watching this breakdown I know what it is.
Rudolph seems to take his left hand off the football very early and open up his left shoulder before he starts driving off his back leg and rotating his torso. Its like if a baseball player would throw his glove hand out to his side before starting to throw the ball. It makes the throwing motion seem to have a hitch and puts more pressure on just making the throw with his arm and not as much recruiting all the muscles from his legs, hips, torso and arms. Kurt Warner mentioned that Rudolph didn't seem to have zip on the ball this season like he thought he saw in other film.
I hope the Steelers can clean up his mechanics and help him become a more consistent thrower. I hope its not so big of a change that it impacts him worse than it improves him a ton. I saw an interview at Senior Bowl and he has a great attitude, sees the defenses well, but what I really didn't like was his inconsistency and something looked a bit wonky to me with his mechanics. Round 3 is good value, so maybe he is ready in 3 years when Ben retires.
I was talking about how he doesn't bring his hips/feet through the throw in another thread. The linked article links to someone smarter saying similar things
https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...raft-breakdown
I also agree with you - there is something off with the kid's mechanics. If it is fixable, then away we go. If not, he is going to turn the ball over a fair amount.
Yeah, sometimes instead of transferring his weight from back foot to front foot and following thru, sometimes he gets flat footed and just stiffens his front leg and throws with mostly arm. The picture on that link you posted shows perfectly how he is opened up in the shoulders and still has the football turned backwards like he is taking it back and not even started it going forward.
IMO, you can be sloppy like that in college, but in the NFL the DB's are gonna jump the routes and throwing lanes faster. Its consistency of feet leading the eyes and arm to the throw. Like you say, some fixable stuff hopefully. There are always throws in the NFL where the QB is off his base, but the more you can stay balanced in the pocket and loaded up on your feet, the better you should be. I personally think Drew Brees has the best footwork in the NFL and love watching him work thru reads in the pocket. Ben doesn't look as efficient, but he still does a really good job of moving his base from read to read.
Hopefully most fans are more excited to have Washington this season, over Rudolph. Washington is going to get every opportunity to play and produce. Rudolph is #4 on the depth chart today. Washington is already #3 at worst.
So true! I rewatched his combine workout after he was drafted and was really impressed with his hands, route running, size and the fact that he has football speed, not stopwatch speed. I will say that he will be a more exciting addition to the WR group than JuJu was. Watch this video and tell me there is something not to like about his skills.